Investec has today upgraded its recommendation for Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.
“Given the way 2016 has played out so far, we think it is little surprise that STAN has been (almost) the worst performing UK bank in the year to date,” Investec analyst Ian Gordon said in a note.
At the same time, the outlook for Investec’s (LON:INVP) own shares is improved, according to HSBC, which upgrades the broker and asset manager to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.
Barclays Capital upgrades Provident Financial (LON:PFG), UK’s sub-prime loan and credit card firm, to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’.
Elsewhere, Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch agreed Henderson Group (LON:HGG) is worth no more than a ‘neutral’ rating, as both firm downgraded the fund manager.
Away from the financial services, Credit Suisse upgraded textile group Berendsen (LON:BRSN) to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’.
And Berenberg lifted its recommendation for Irish drug distributor UDG Healthcare (LON:UDG) to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.